Job openings hit nearly 3-year high at end of 2011

The number of jobs waiting to be filled rose in December as employers tried to ramp up hiring in factories, retail and business services, the government said on Tuesday.

It was nearly a three-year high, according to The Associated Press, and offers another hopeful sign in the still-struggling labor market.

There were 3.4 million available jobs at the end of December, up from 3.1 million in November, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

The number of jobs open in November was revised slightly downward from an initially reported 3.2 million.

Monthly job openings - unfilled, posted vacancies that employers plan to fill within 30 days - help describe demand for labor. The number of job openings has increased about 30 percent since the end of the 2007-09 recession, although they remain well below the 4.4 million level registered in December 2007.

In December, job openings in business and professional services increased by 149,000 from the prior month, while openings at manufacturers rose by 22,000 and openings at retailers climbed 31,000.

Hiring declined marginally in December, with business and government hires slipping to 4.05 million from 4.13 million in November.

The U.S. jobless rate was 8.5 percent in December, down from 8.7 percent in November. It fell further, to 8.3 percent, in January, data from the Labor Department showed this month.